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My daughters' public elementary school educated a sizable number of Israeli & Arabic speaking immigrant children. In the main hallway, several doors away from the Principals Office, was a 9 foot by 16 foot map and mural celebrating Greater Israel, complete with photographs of the "Golan"( Syrian Heights), East Jerusalem & Hebron. The map was annotated in Hebrew, but, in Hebrew script, the Occupied Territories were identified as "Judea & Samaria". I wrote a letter to the Town's local newspaper and I questioned the map's appropriateness in a public school setting and I asked why the local school board was condoning a political policy not shared by our Federal government. I was roundedly dismissed as either a "Hater", a "Crank" or an "Anti-Semite" by those who replied, only one individual raised the question of what must have gone through the minds of the young Arab children when they past by this mural on a daily basis.

If Israel seeks survival, have it sign a mutual defense treaty with the United States, otherwise, the USA has no business choosing sides in a politicized ethnic struggle that determines human rights based upon religion and state-defined ethnic identity.

Today is also the 50th anniversary of the attack upon the USS Liberty by Israeli Air Force fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats. The combined air and sea attack killed 34 American crew members (naval officers, seamen, two marines, and one civilian), wounded 171 crew members, and severely damaged the ship. At the time, the ship was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.

A foreign country with an American lobby that successfully resists complying with the Foreign Agents Registration Act and successfully gets the United States to annually underwrite 25% of its military Occupation costs while creating and expanding illegal ethnic settlements is a foreign country capable of launching a sneak attack upon a well marked American naval vessel 50 years ago & then successfully claim the attack was nothing more than an unfortunate accident of mistaken identity.

A foreign country that is able to successfully resist having its American lobbying group, AIPAC, comply with the Foreign Agents Registration Act for 66 years, and successfully get the United States to annually underwrite 25% of its military Occupation costs while creating and expanding illegal ethnic settlements is also a foreign country that is capable of launching a sneak attack upon a well marked American naval vessel & successfully claim it was an unfortunate accident.

A world's dependence upon lsraeli technological innovation will help ensure the survival of the nation state of Israel? Apparently Mr. Dershowitz conveniently omits the fact that 1930's Germany was also one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced nations of its era-

"[If the U.S. relocates its Israeli Embassy] Arabs across the region may well hear: 'America has decided Jerusalem belongs to the Jews.' The result could be violence against American embassies across the region."

-And if American embassies are attacked because of this decision there will be one group of Americans notably absent in the military ranks waiting to defend our countries property and interests: out of an active duty U.S. Military of 1.3 million men and women fewer than 4,800 men and women self-identify as Jewish.

This is out of an American population of 311 million people, of which 6 million self identify as Jewish.

In contrast, 1 of every 20 members of the US House of Representatives is Jewish
and 1 of every 8 members of the US Senate is Jewish.

If violence does break out over this action does anyone think Americans aren't going to notice this indiscrepancy?

Now more than ever it is important for my American Jewish family to join others and publicly challenge our self appointed leaders who narrowly define a collective identity and who unfairly jeopardize my American Jewish security in the name of a foreign, politicized ethnic identity.

The modern state of "Israel" has successfully indoctrinated many Jewish Americans to believe that the political ideas of Zionism have become either the equal to, or supplant, the historic Jewish religion.

By effectively substituting "State" for one's Jewish social and religious identity the self-proclaimed "Jewish State of Israel" practices a unique, de facto form of supremacy by applying ethnicity and religious identification to determine the degree of ones political enfranchisement and entitlement to receive basic human rights.

This is why there can be "A Nation of Jews" in Israel, but there can never be "A Nation of Israelis" in Israel, composed of multiple ethnicities and religions, yet all receiving the same degree of equal rights and enfranchisement.

I find it dangerous to embrace the doctrines of a State that claims to officially speak in the name of my family's Jewish ethnicity and faith, while depriving human rights to those Jews and non-Jews who either can not, or will not, embrace the official, received identity.

The brittle intolerance shown by those opposing any dissenting opinion to Israel's official narrative mirrors Israel's sad and steady march towards a Jewish fascism that recognizes only one interpretation of Judaism and Jewish identity, and ironically deprives Jews of a religious freedom officially recognized by every secular democracy on earth.

The moral blindness of Zionism to critically judge its own behavior towards "The Goyim," or "Other" is Israel's moral and pragmatic Achille's heal, because a self-proclaimed Jewish state that ironically cannot officially tolerate Jewish religious pluralism is also a self-proclaimed Jewish State that can justify a military occupation of non-Jews for nearly 50 years, conduct illegal land seizures, engage in illegal settlement building, and determine human rights based upon ones religious and ethnic identity.

Jane Eisner is a New York resident: if she sets up "centers of civil disobedience" and "engages in boycotts" challenging the limitations of non Orthodox Jews to pray at the Western Wall, will she be prosecuted under the anti BDS laws recently signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo?

Had Bill or Hillary Clinton addressed a group of Protestant Christians several years ago and said that Chelsea had brought home a boyfriend with the last name of Mezvinsky and that "they were a little worried", because Mezvinsky "doesn’t sound like" a Christian last name how long would Hilary's political ambitions remained legitimate and viable in the Democratic Party?

For my military knowledge, though I'm plucky and adventury,
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century;
But still, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.

Read the "comments" section attached to this Sunday's NYTimes article about Hillary Clinton, entitled "The last Hawk"; either there are a lot of disgruntled Sander's supporters out there, or the American public is exhausted fighting other people's battles, and that includes Zionist expansionism into the Occupied Territories. At the very least, Chelsea and her hedge fund hubby can give up their $11 million NYC condo and go serve in the US military for several continuous, uninterrupted tours, oh, I forgot, only "little people" serve in armies.

Avi is a performance artist, and her vlogs are Rorschach ink blots open to interpretation- personally, I think the real life personality portraying the Avi character is liberal, and sympathetic to cultural Zionism, but understands how the current dialogue supporting all things Israel has become adolescent and wildly emotional and the different efforts of Israeli Hasbara have begun to lampoon itself.

The description of Jewish Settlement society is the description of a cult- insular, suspicious of outside thought, intolerant of independent thinking. While it's a pain that America pays the Israeli defense budget that permits the Settlements to exist in the first place, ultimately it is Judaiam that pays the ultimate price.: How can Jewish Israeli society not avoid a civil war when the illogic of Zionism is allowed to run it's extreme course in the formation of the Settlements? Dealing with "the Arab" is going to be the least of Jewish Israel's future problems.

I do have one questions for the American settlers- if they hate and distrust the outside world, why don't they renounce their U.S. Citizenship and surrender their U.S. Passports?

These are the rants of a conspiracy theorist, not of a national leader- incidently, on the same day that Netanyahu was white washing Hitler, Jewish Israelis killed 5 Palestinians in extrajudicial shootings, and on the day before kicked an Eritrean man to death, in public view.

Ever hear of an American "Sunset Town"- communities where no blacks were allowed after dark...they were quite common in the Midwest until civil rights legislation began to be enforced in the 1960's. It sure looks like "The Only Democracy in the Middle East" is seizing upon yet another ugly American tradition to distinguish between the races.

Just curious, have the Israeli authorities arrested any suspects for the arson attack committed against the Christian monastery in the Galillee region earlier this year? Or, where suspects arrested, then let go for "lack of evidence"- many arson crimes committed against non Jewish individuals living in areas controlled by Israel seem to follow this pattern of investigation.

Will Israel continue to accept financial donations from Reform Jews? Should all non-Orthodox members of AIPAC "convert" to Orthodox Judaism just to be safe? 70% of the world's Jewish population just wants to know how to deal with the one country in the democratic world where liberal Judaism faces the most government discrimination.

Palestinian military, economic and political influence are always equalized in the world of Israeli Hasbara. Consequently, Gazan fishing boats become part of the "Hamas Navy", rudderless rockets develop the devastating pinpoint accuracy and destructive capability of Exocet missiles, the mere existence of the indigenous population becomes a ominous 5th Column", and demands for ending the Occupation and honoring Palestinian human rights becomes synominous with a calculated world hatred for the existence of Israel.

This image reminds me that some of the worst anti Semitic literature I've ever seen is produced by right wing extremist Jewish organizations such as the Samaria Settlers Committee: I refer to the animated video titled "The Eternal Jew" and it's target are Jewish individuals and organizations.

What is the difference between asking a member of Hillel, an organization with a stated Pro-Israel manifesto, and an anti abortion candidate belonging to an organization with a non negotiable membership platform about their ability to impartially perform a duty that might conflict with their private beliefs? None. If you belong to an organization with a finite manifesto, and you wish to be considered for a more general, democratic governing positions, your membership and its effect on governing ability must be allowed to be questioned.

Would it be "anti-(fill in the blank)" to ask the same question if the young woman belonged to a strict fundamentalist Muslim campus organization and she agreed with what AL Qaeda or ISIS are doing? How about if she were a member of a Christian fundamentalist campus organization and her campus group opposed abortion, birth control , gay rights and women's rights? Would it have then been okay to ask how her campus affiliations and her religious beliefs would effect her decision making responsibilities?

Jewish religious nationalists have embraced the specter of Anti Semitism as a powerful and effective weapon that shapes current Israeli relations with the world. Sadly, the consequences of this fear-induced policy creates a moral blind spot in the Israeli psyche that is leading to tragic consequences for Israel's future-existing political borders will always be be too insecure, no military will ever be too big, no amount of money or political power can ever be too great, and no relationship should ever be too trusted when any/all disagreements with Israel are construed as nothing more than anti Semitic world hatred of the Jewish People. Meanwhile, the income discrepancy between Israel rich and poor grows wider, the aging Jewish holocaust survivors live in Israeli poverty, while Israel treats it's indigenous ethnic cousins with the same lack of humanity as did the tormentors who drove the European Jews to Palestine a century ago.

I agree with your assessment, amigo- the white hot hate rhetoric of fanatical Israel supporters suggests a level of desperation and fear not previously seen. Unfortunately, such people will never understand that the terrorism committed by Illegal West Bank settlers, the Israeli checkpoint cages and the over the top destruction and murder of civilians by weapons bearing the Magen David insignia do more to create a negative image of Israel and Jews than the insufferable rants of any anti-Semitic madman.

Not only do I hope that Dermer becomes the public face for this fiasco, I also hope the American media plays up Ron Dermer's renouncing of his U.S. Citizenship in order to become Israel's ambassador to the U.S.A. (As Michael Oren did before him) Insolence and impertinence are qualities that Americans cannot tolerate from allies receiving billions of free dollars each year. Americans who renounce their American citizenship and manipulate the American political system on behalf of their new political homeland are not going to be received very well by the typical American voter, either.

Jewish individuals who travel abroad to volunteer to serve as "Lone Soldiers" in the Israeli military should be regarded and treated in same manner as individuals who travel abroad and volunteer for ISIL.

I'm trying to understand why the New York Times runs a front page article about American Muslim youth joining Islamic military organizations overseas while remaining mum about the children of some of their own journalists joining a certain foreign military that protects illegally constructed settlements in the Occupied Territories- ironically, two years ago the Times published an article about American "Lone Soldiers" leaving the U.S.A. to join the Israel Defense Forces.

So much for abiding by the rule of law in the "Only Democracy in the Middle East"...oh wait, the two Palestinian suspects were shot dead in the Occupied Territories by the Israeli military, never mind.

Rabbi Danielle Leshaw strikes me as one who would just as quickly scold and admonish marchers at the NYC Climate March for bringing plastic water bottles as she is condemning and labeling anyone who disagrees with her opinions about Israel's recent destruction of Gaza.

"Our local Palestinian Solidarity groups have raised tens of thousands of euros and collected medicines to send to Gaza"

Do your contributions get impounded at the border by the Israelis and go bad, or are all the medicines purchased through Israeli middlemen businesses, which then are mysteriously allowed to enter Gaza? At least this is the tale told on Timeswarp.org

I never realized that the State of Israel actually makes money off of the misery it inflicts upon Gaza. As reported in Times Warp Israel is earning millions of euros from a de facto policy of preventing all non-Israeli reconstruction aid from entering the Gaza Strip. "If you want aid materials to be permitted to enter, they will almost inevitably come from Israeli sources. I don’t think you’ll find it written down anywhere in official policy, but when you get to negotiate with the Israelis, this is what happens.”

Wonderful. Impound all international aid for months, or "buy local" from Israeli merchants. The demands of Israeli Exceptionalism to be exempt from international codes of behavior never ceases to amaze me. What a greedy, bigoted attitude.

Contrast Joan River's comments about Palestinians to Helen Thomas's comments about Jewish Israeli immigrants- two well known elderly American women expressing two different perspectives, with two different consequences upon their public character and reputations.

International law recognizes the right of a militarily occupied people to use all means necessary to resist and defend themselves against unlawful occupation- what truly enrages Israelis is that each missile launched against Israel, no matter how inaccurate, is a physical reminder of the moral shame European Jews continue to feel in refusing to physically protect themselves 75 years ago despite also being a stateless people and also facing an overwhelmingly powerful military and political machine determined to crush and destroy them. Palestinians resist and continue to resist, why didn't my families Ashkenazi ancestors do the same?

"The Israel/Palestine conflict is the central issue in American public life today. The New York Times has five stories that touch on it in today’s paper."

News about the Presbyterian Divestment vote aside it is extraordinary that a cultural/political/ geographical population the approximate size of Haiti commands so much domestic and international media attention.

The end of the world rhetoric of Michael Oren and his ilk remains the same as it has always been, it is Netanyahu's overplaying his hand and the Israeli refusal to "negotiate" during the latest round of "Peace Talks" that places the silliness of their comments in a new, more skeptical public light.

Mahane: And Jewish settlers don't destroy olive trees, and the Most Moral Army In The World doesn't close off the Main Street in Hebron to non Jews, and bored Border Patrol snipers don't shoot Palestinian teenagers and...

“On behalf of the Jewish people, are you now or have you ever been a signatory to a boycott of Israel?”

What's next, naming names? The accused hoping that cooperation with self-appointed judges will officially absolve them of holding suspicious anti-semitic tendencies and Jewish self hatred? The supporters driving this culture of fear are ironically destroying what they value most and eating their seed corn-no wonder America's Jewish youth are turning way from Israel in droves.

You’d hoped that this time would be different – that yesterday’s promises of change would take root and that your loved one could start fresh. But beating settlement addiction isn’t that simple. It has a way of turning good people with the best of intentions into strangers. And one day you realize that you’ve been chasing an illusion. Tomorrow always comes, but it never brings lasting change.

If your loved one is trapped in the cycle of settlement addiction, Anti-Ziocane can help. At Anti-Ziocane we know that breaking the bonds of settlement addiction starts with a simple admission, but that arriving at this admission can be the hardest step of all. We also know that finding a path to true recovery often begins with an intervention.

Settlement Addiction Intervention: The First Step Toward Breaking the Cycle

An intervention is a planned meeting of close family members, friends and perhaps clergy or a professional interventionist. The goal of the meeting is to discuss recovery options in a nonaccusatory way and to share with your loved one how their settlement addiction has affected important relationships. The point of the intervention is never to shame or berate but to help your loved one see the true nature of the problem, present treatment options, and empower him or her to make the decision to seek help.

Facing settlement addiction isn’t easy. An intervention is a highly effective way to get your loved one the help they need before the damage can’t be undone. Call us now to take the first step toward breaking the cycle of settlement addiction.

As Larry Derfner states below the Vietnam War was first opposed by the political radicals, then the liberals and finally the American mainstream; I am hoping that the Times editorial allows today's American mainstream to begin asking honest questions about the consequences of providing unconditional U.S. support for Israel, the blowback of "Shelly" Adelson, Charles Jacobs and AIPAC notwithstanding.

I think the NYT editorial is momentous: for the first time America's "Paper of Record" is admitting that the two state solution is dead, no matter that the Times assigns equal blame for the failure. I think the Times is also covering themselves by "officially" assigning equal blame for the Peace Talks, yet the Paper opens their editorial stance up to readers comments, and by an overwhelming margin the commenters blame Israel for the lack of progress. The last time I can remember an event this significant is when Walter Cronkite read his editorial questioning the purpose of the Vietnm War after the Tet Offensive in 1968.

Hophmi is right; Mondoweiss readers need to attend a lecture on the definition of antisemitism conductd by Dov Hinkind dressed in blackface and the Jewish high schoolers dressed in KKK costumes last Purim.

Should the Americans free Mr. Pollard perhaps he could take over Mr. Oren's recently vacated role as Israeli Ambassador to the United States- after all, both men renounced their American citizenship and they both share an intimate knowledge of America...

It is striking that an institution of higher learning would tolerate such tightly controlled conditions of discussion and still allow the event to be labeled as a "debate" held under their auspices. Calmly documenting and publishing said behavoir allows Americans and the world to see the controlling, manipulative practices that passes for real discussion about Israel in the USA.

"The New York Times would not permit any other group of people on earth to be blood-libeled like this– even in a letter to the editor."

Let's look at this from the positive side: what other group is also allowed to form a U.S. political lobby group and not have it register as representing a foreign agent? What other group's leaders views themselves as judge, jury and executioner when it comes to protecting the interests of a foreign State? What other group uses personal ad homenim attacks to casually smear people whose opinions they disagree with? What other group is so powerful that they can force Congress to seriously debate the benefits of the USA attacking Iran? What other group is capable of silencing the U.S. main stream corporate media from seriously debating the tactics of a foreign regime that wants to privilege one group at the expense of another? What other group threatens financial sanctions and legal prosecutions to U.S. Colleges and their students who dare attempt to openly debate the occupation policies of a foreign State? The list just goes on and on.

“SJP’s recent methods of engagement…are based on intimidation tactics, publicity stunts and walk-outs which do not leave space for open discussion or reasoned debate,” wrote Max Klapholz, Samara Per and Noah Goldstein.

Some 30 years ago the Palestinians formally recognized Israel's right to exist, and look what that gained them- multitudes of new Jewish-only settlements in the OT, new demands that Israel be recognized as a Jewish State, and Israel still hasn't acknowledged Palestine's right to exist.

As the fundamentalist Haredim gain political power C.O. status will become the least of Israel's problems- it's only a matter of time before Israel becomes unlivable for secular and moderate Jews. Those who are able will flee the country using their second, European/American passport, and all that will be left in "The Jewish State" are the extremists and those too poor to flee- poetic justice, indeed.

Banning Israeli soccer teams from international competition would be akin to the World Rugby Association banning Afrikanner South African rugby from international participation some 30 years ago. Few symbolic acts taken by a non-governmental organization are as powerful as a sports boycott against a repressive, political regime.

"Gulliable Fellow Travellers"? An epithet spoken to an American audience by the leader of another country before an American lobbying organization whose sole criteria for membership is organizing maximum economic, military and diplomatic support for an ethnically defined foreign nation?

The Times may boast they provide "all the news that fit to print", yet the Times also reserves the right to officially determine "how fit" the news agrees with its understanding of American priorities. The fact that Amnesty Intl. believes the primary beneficiary of U.S. economic, military and diplomatic assistance is possibly guilty of committing war crimes against Palestinian demonstrators just isn't that important a matter for the American public to be concerned with, according to the Times sensibilities, and therefore is a story that deserves to be buried.

Hophmi, it's the influence of USA-based lobbying groups working on behalf of a foreign power, and vice versa, that's so insidious. The "Israel Lobby" is not the first example of a foreign power effectively dictating US. Foreign policy: after WW 2 numerous U.S. Chinese/American lobbying groups worked to further the political/military and economic interests of the Nationalist Chinese government, as well as American based lobbying groups that monitored "anti-Nationalist Chinese" activity in the USA and reported their findings back to the Nationalist Chinese government. Henry Luce, of the Time/Life publishing empire, was one of many influential Americans that publicly proclaimed the security of Nationalist China as synonymous with American security and American interests, and American citizens, working on behalf of the "China Lobby", worked tirelessly to place men representing their views in key policy-making positions. The "China Lobby" was so effective in determining American foreign policy that American understanding of the region was severely hampered, with disastrous results.

Assumimg all of the individuals portrayed in the ad are either Palestinian or Jewish Sarah is going to have an impossible time discerning creed since all the individuals shown share a virtually identical genetic background. The true message is for little Sarah to select an Ashkanazi as a breeding partner, and avoid the "Arab" and Mizrahi races altogether.

Only one true Jewish identity is allowed, the Jewish identity as defined by the Jewish State of Israel. All dissenters of the received identity are not true Jews, they are self haters and individuals who threaten the collective security of the Jewish people.

Netanyahu intentionally confuses the Nazi disenfranchisement of Jews with his right to speak for the true collective needs of all Jewish people: that means 1) playing the holocaust card to stifle international criticism of Jewish ethnic settlements in the Occupied Territories and 2) ironically urging Americn Jews to place the political goals of the Jewish nation state before their civic loyality to the USA...for the first time in history Jews are being told by their "true ethnic leader" to voluntarily abandon a political state that has protected "The Jewish People" rather than "The Jewish People" be abandoned by a political state that has persecuted Jews.

I'm sure there are many reasons to explain the moral collapse of Reform Jews once Israel was formally established- I do wonder if American Reform Jews were initially encouraged by their leaders to view Israel more as a distant, abstract ideal that personified their Reform concepts of social justice and equality to all. My wife doesn't recall the modern state of Israel playing a critical role in Reform Jewish idenity until after the '67 war and the Israeli conquest of the Occupied Territorities. On a personal note, I do remember visiting East Jerusalem in August, 1973 and seeing a recently demolished house with a hand written sign atop the rubble saying, in English & Arabic, that the building had been destroyed by the Israeli government for not complying with the military planning code. My father, a Protestant lawyer from the rural Midwest said, "well, that's something you don't see published back home."

“I can’t claim to be fulfilling the role of ethical prophet, but what I took from this Reform tradition was the idea that an American Jew should be as concerned about the rights of a Palestinian Arab as he is about the rights of an Israeli Jew.”

And that, in a nutshell, illustrates the difference between the Judaism that values ethical understanding and equality for all vs. The Judaism practiced as a fundamentalist, fascist ethnocracy.

At least it's all documented for future historian's research. I have a hunch that the Times coverage of all things Israeli and Palestinian during our era will be wincingly embarrassing for future generations to read, much like our reading contemporary American accounts defending segregation and white tradition written 60 years ago, or politicians defending Afrikaner rule during the 1980's.

"Certainly, obvious conflict of interest must be avoided — the reporter shouldn’t (and doesn’t) cover her husband. But most of all, judge the reporter by her work. "

Since Kershner's standard of reporting apparently passes muster at the New York Times, the paper should apparently encourage its reporting staff ( contracted & salaried) to also promote the Government's line and perspective when covering the controversial actions of countries such as Russia & China...having a spouse that is employed to promote the host Government's propoganda and point of view wouldn't hurt, either.

Eight years ago Alan Dershowitz took glee in successfully pressuring Harvard to withdraw "The Israel Lobby" from its working paper academic forum published under the Harvard auspices and logo. At the time Dershowitz claimed in both the academic and popular press that "The paper contains three types of major errors: quotations are wrenchedly out of context, important facts are misstated or omitted, and embarrassingly weak logic is employed." Dershowitz also went so far as to publically smear Walt and Mearsheimer as bigots for implying that pro-Israeli special interest groups held a prominent position in American policy making. Eight years later, the public failure of AIPAC to commit the USA to do Israel's bidding over Iran has proven Walt and Mearsheimer to be fundamentally correct in their arguments, and Dershowitz's continued rigidity in limiting open, public discussions on Israeli/ USA relations is rapidly diminishing his role in shaping the conversation defining USA/ Israel relations.

So disappointed (and ironic) to learn that Kenyon's new president, Sean Decatur, has withdrawn the college from ASA institutional membership- a black man defending Israeli apartheid practices in the Occupied Territorities this is not an action that will age well with time.

Charges of Anti Semitism are effective when they are leveled in a vacuum of information- when the controversial actions are accurately reported by The likes of The New York Times and respected heads of establishment institutions the charges will backfire upon the smearers.

As a Presbyterian raising Jewish children I hope that my families congregation will understand that the difficult facts outlined in this summary are necessary to hear, and the facts are shared with our Jewish brothers and sisters out of a liberal Protestant respect, and concern for how the noble teachings of progressive Judaism have been corrupted by government ideology and power. 50 years ago Mainstream American Protestants also had to reconcile the compassionate teachings of their faith with the hateful practices of a government that practiced social discrimination based upon tradition, fear and Protestant ethnic entitlement.

Hair-trigger temper? It's just the steroids speaking...apparently Grimm also does a mean Jack Nicholson/ Col. Jessup impersonation about serving in uniform and defending the United States of America. ( Just don't ask him about why he wears military service ribbons that he claims were issued to him "as an administrative error")

"In effect, the continuing imprisonment of this person [Pollard] long after he should have been paroled on humanitarian grounds can only be read as an effort to intimidate American Jews."

Context is everything, Mr. Foxman- how would you describe your organization's silence in Israel's constant re-arresting of Mordechai Vanunu, the Jewish man that exposed Israel's secret weapons program to the world? Shouldn't Vanunu also be allowed to leave Israel on humanitarian grounds for the same reasons that Abe Foxman demands the release of Jonathan Pollard? Or, is Vanunu's persecution by the Israelis justified to intimidate future whistleblowers whose locality is not exclusively tied the the doctrines of the State? Ironically, Mr. Foxman, I think you may have arrived at the correct answer, though you are incorrect in the process of your reasoning.

Mr. Mayor, sure hope you don't plan to return to Israel anytime soon, I'd hate to read that the Israeli government mistook your family for protesting refuges and summarily arrested/returned them to their guarded refuge camps.

TEL AVIV: Following the death of former Israel prime minister Ariel Sharon – who has been in a coma since 2006 – plans for the 85-year-old’s state funeral have now been released.

According to arrangements made by the Israeli government, Sharon’s burial plot is set to displace over 15,000 Palestinians living in the West Bank. The plot, located on the outskirts of Hebron, will take over land lived and farmed by Arabs for at least four centuries and will be surrounded by a five-metre tall concrete wall with armed sentry posts on each corner. It will also be connected to Israel by a four-lane commemorative highway.

I would hate to be one of these "Price Tag" vandals- the humiliation they brought upon themselves after getting caught by Palestinian villagers will be nothing compared to the wrath of Israeli officials who are publicly humiliated by photos of supposedly superior Jewish colonists being held captive, and left defenseless, by "an inferior" indigenous people.

When Jews discuss ethnic pluralism in Israel why are Palestinians never allowed to speak for themselves, and why do Jews exclusively define, and resolve, "The Palestinian Problem"?...the scenario is reminiscent of 19th Century American Protestant men addressing "The Place of the Negro in White Society" by planning "Back to Africa" colonies and describing the plight of "The Negro" in paternalistic terms framed from the perspective of the entitled.

If you doubt my perspective ask yourselves when the last time The New York Times has allowed a piece regarding the Palestinian perspective to actually be written by a Palestinian living in the Occupied Territorities. (Or, when the Times has ever hired a non-Jewish correspondent to work out of its Israel office)

I thought it telling that that the most popular comment under Tom Freidman's 12/18/13 piece was mysteriously deleted by the New York Times. The comment was written by David Underwood, a pre-approved New York Times commenter. The essence of Mr. Underwood's comment was that 1) the Palestinians "are the nig**ers of Israel, and that Israelis are dumbfounded that after some 46 years of Israelis seizing Palestinian lands, water rights and destroying donated foreign equipment that Palestinians are filled with hatred of the oppressors. Mr. Underwood went on to point out that it takes two [countries] to create obstruction of the peace process and that Palestinians deemed terrorist were only copying the terrorist techniques of the Jewish Irgun terrorist bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem to call attention to their plight. A fragment of Mr. Underwood's text remains- if one looks under the "Times Selected Comments" one will find a response to Mr. Underwood's original post. Unfortunately, the Times has killed the link that generated the response.

The standards for accepting African blood in Israel are not dissimilar to the standards established for giving blood in the USA...neither country accepts blood donations from blood donors who have lived in specific African countries experiencing a high HIV rate.

Israeli blood donations also prevent individuals who have resided in the UK from donating blood, presumable because of a fear of spreading Mad Cow Disease.

The fact that the current government of Israel behaves as if it were still 1938 Europe is telling when I hear our own Secretary of State and the Israeli Foreign Minister talk about how to administer lands that neither of them own- Palestine as Chechoslovakia?

Israelis to be permitted a military presence in Palestine, and at Palestinian borders, Israel to control all Palestinian air space, and Israelis to also determine the flow of water emanating from aquifers and rivers located in Palestine- would the Jews accept this offer if the roles were reversed? If not, why not?

It is reporting like this that makes Max Blumenthal such a dangerous presence to the establishment press- who wants to bet that this story will never get carried by the likes of the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR and on and on and on....

My children attend a public elementary school near Boston, Massachusetts where there is a 9 foot high by 12 foot long mural dedicated to the Greater State of Israel. At the center of this mural is a map of Greater Israel published by the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. The map depicts East Jerusalem, the Syrian Heights and the Occupied Territorities as one with the state of Israel. In addition, the mural contains photographs of the Syrian Heights and a panoramic shot of East Jerusalem, both labelled as Israeli scenes. The country's capital is shown as Jerusalem.

Needless to say, the territory and capital information depicted in the mural is in direct contradiction to the official policies of the United States and of the international community.

Ironically, the school educates the children of many visiting academics from around the world, including numerous Muslim countries.

Perhaps Rabbi Leshaw can tell her students about Birthright Unplugged (www.birthrightunplugged.org) an organization dedicated to organizing educational trips to the Occupied Territorities and educating participants to the institutional
tools used by the Israeli government to carry out the occupation.

Israeli soldiers pushing European diplomat's faces in the ground while the international media records the event will quickly destroy any good will the Israeli artists managed to nurture at American universities.

While I appreciate the difficulty of Mr. Robin's discussing Israel amongst fellow Jews and how his personal journey of exploration has allowed him to ultimately self identify as being "Jewish without Israel" his private journey has come at a heavy cost to the non-Jewish American citizens who have been extorted by pro-Israeli forces to pay the financial, diplomatic and physical costs of supporting a religious, nationalist Jewish state. The emotional difficulty Mr. Robin describes of thinking counter to his own kind is no different than individual Germans, Boers or Southern Americans questioning the hateful practices practiced by their respective ethnic groups. Yet while Mr. Robin remained publically silent about his private concerns and practices of the state of Israel his silence also allowed pro-Israeli political forces in the USA to claim to speak in his name and create the public perception that Jews, and Israel are one and the same thing and that the self appointed members of the American Jewish establishment speak for all American Jews. This distortion of fact has grown unchecked to such a degree that any public, open discussion of current U.S./Israel relations has become a taboo subject in American politics and society.

I wish you a Happy New Year, Mr. Robin, and I hope at Yom Kippur you reflect upon the ramifications of keeping silent amongst fellow ethnic brethren and please also reflect upon the condition that pro Israeli forces who do not represent the American Jewish community in the United States are openly lobbying Congress and the President to begin yet a third American war on behalf of Israel in the last 11 years.

M.J. Rosenberg has pointed out that the following two paragraphs originally appeared in the New York Times, only to be edited out in later editions:

Administration officials said the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee was already at work pressing for military action against the government of Assad, fearing that if Syria escapes American retribution for its use of chemical weapons, Iran might be emboldened in the future to attack Israel. In the House, the majority leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia, the only Jewish Republican in Congress, has long worked to challenge Democrats’ traditional base among Jews.

"One administration official, who, like others, declined to be identified discussing White House strategy, called AIPAC “the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” and said its allies in Congress had to be saying, “If the White House is not capable of enforcing this red line” against the catastrophic use of chemical weapons, “we’re in trouble.”

I guess this information fails to pass the Time's time-honored promise to publish "All the news that fit to print".

The USA has signed no mutual defense treaty with Israel; please, Israeli Embassy, explain to the American public living outside the D.C. Beltway why they should be told to fight yet another unpopular war to preserve the status quo of Israeli power and apartheid in the Middle East.

(I'd also like to know how many children of the bi-partisan Washington D.C. power brokers are currently serving in the U.S. military- my educated guess is zero to none)

So who, exactly, are the individuals threatening to withdraw their financial donations to the University of Michigan based upon their interpretation of Ms. Walker’s comments regarding Israel? I find it hard to believe that the donors names can remain anonymous in this era. As M.J. Rosenberg often says, "A lobby is like a night flower, they thrive in the dark and die in the light."

Jodi Rudoren: a Zionist flack writing for the New York Times, or an honest reporter that is heavily censored and edited by her own paper's internal Editorial Board policies? Or, perhaps, a bit of both?

In any case, future generations will note that Rudoren's copy will not age gracefully as America's "Paper of Record" documenting the occupation of the Palestinian Territorities.

"Thomas took her profession to task in a 2006 book. After Sept. 11, reporters “were afraid to challenge the government, were afraid to be seen as un-American, unpatriotic, and as a consequence, they really let the country down,” she said in an August 2007 interview on CNN."

-LA Times Obituary

What she said about press coverage on Iraq also holds true for American press coverage on Israel: ultimately, Helen Thomas will get the last, if posthumous, laugh.

I guess the IDF will need to go into full survival mode, now, and "secure the borders" by arresting scores of 5 year old rock-throwing terrorists- note to self: ask Daddy America to increase my $3.6 billion dollar yearly allowance.

So, the concept of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) has been reduced to Israeli doctors showing Americans how to force feed innocent prisoners held in Gitmo, skills acquired by the Israelis while imprisoning indigenous people demanding their freedom; I am so ashamed that my Jewish daughters must witness the tragic, wholesale gutting of their once proud and noble faith.

Click on the school's mission statement link above, substitute the word "Europe" for Israel and "White" for Jewish and you realize what a ethnocentric and racist society the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day school is interested in creating.

I guess Mr. Foxman has to say something in order to justify his $560,000/ year salary with the Anti Defimation League...unfortunately, when it comes to identifying racism, Ms. Walker is closer to the truth than Abe Foxman, who remains strangely silent on the roll of "price tag" attacks committed by Jews, and the refusal of Israelis to equate Jewish hate attacks upon Palestinians as terrorism.

Thank you, Mr. Friedman- until your article I never realized that the modern state of Israel was created through a strict adherence to the principles of non violence, and
that the Jewish immigrants to Palestine risked their lives to achieve independence and civil rights using only peaceful means.

Thanks to Mr. Friedman I never knew until now that any non-Jew in "the only democracy in the Middle East" can rise to become the head of the State of Israel.

Thank you, Mr. Friedman, for educating me that the toolbox of the Palestinian leadership is limited to using missile attacks and suicide bombers to negotiate with Israel, and that the Israelis always use peaceful means to construct their "restricted" roads and settlements in the lands conquered from Jordan "after Jordan attacked Israel in 1967."

And thank you so much, Mr. Friedman for educating me that it is the Israelis "who have tried repeatedly to work out an agreement with the Palestinians, and grant them sovergnity"- I never realized, until now, that Israel intends to allow the future Palestinian state to have a standing army, control it's own air and sea space, as well as control the aquifers located beneath their future State.

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